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Furnace Replacement Calgary

With shorter days and cooler temperatures getting closer each week, it’s time to look towards the winter weather that lays ahead so that you can be prepared. With the inevitable icy temperatures that our Calgary winters bring us, we must rely heavily on our furnaces to keep us cozy and warm. With all the extra usage, your utility bills can increase by a lot in no time. That being said, with some preventative maintenance, you can ensure that your heating system is primed and ready to take on the weather as efficiently as possible to keep you toasty without the costly burden.

Here are five advantages of furnace maintenance that make it clear why it is worth the investment.

Lower Your Energy Bills

Your furnace is similar to your car. It requires regular maintenance to get the most out of it and to keep costs as low as possible by preventing any major issues from occurring. By having your furnace regularly maintained, especially before the winter season, you’re helping to improve the efficiency of it. This equates to less energy required to keep your home warm.

Extend the Lifespan

Just like with any other equipment, taking care of your furnace will allow it to function properly for much longer. Regular furnace maintenance will identify any lingering issues and repair them to avoid any damage that can contribute to major problems.

Less Hassle and Repairs

By having your furnace serviced regularly, it can help monitor any discrepancies with it that can be dealt with before they lead to larger, more expensive repairs. That means less hassle and aggravation for you.

Keep it Functioning Safely

Safety is also an important by-product of performing regular maintenance. Qualified technicians will check the furnace, monitor and change the filter when necessary, remove debris that can accumulate around the unit, and ensure that there’s no risk of carbon monoxide entering your home.

Improved Capacity for Performance

When you take proper care of your furnace, it will improve the performance, along with the capacity to work better at maintaining a comfortable temperature throughout your home during the winter.

Calgary winters can quickly equate to spikes in your utility bills with all the use your furnace gets. Make your winter season worry-free by taking care of the maintenance now. Distinct Heating & Cooling has technicians that can come and service your furnace to have it ready for the season ahead. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

No one likes coming home to a cold home after a long day at work to discover their furnace has stopped working. Here at Distinct Heating & Cooling, we do offer emergency service to help get your furnace working. Prior to calling us, there are several things you can check first to try and identify the cause.

Make Sure the Furnace Is On – Go to your thermostat and see that it is on. If you have a newer thermostat, try replacing the batteries, as dead batteries could cause the thermostat to not work correctly. If you are not sure how to access the batteries, do not hesitate to call us for help.

Check the Air Filters –If the air filters are dirty and clogged, they can cause the furnace to not get sufficient air, cause it to overheat, and shut off.

Verify the Gas Pilot Is Lit – If you have an older furnace model, you may have a pilot light that may need to be re-lit. Follow the manufacture’s guidelines for relighting instructions.

Check Breaker Switches – Sometimes the breaker switch to your furnace can blow and needs to be reset. Before resetting the breaker, go to the thermostat and change the setting to the “off” position. After resetting the breaker, turn the furnace back on. If the breaker blows again, shut the furnace back off and call us for further help.

Check for Blocked Vents – If any vents are blocked, including the return air vent(s), it can prevent the furnace from getting sufficient air and cause problems similar to that when air filters are dirty and clogged.

After checking the above items, if your furnace will not turn back on, call our Calgary furnace repair company immediately to schedule emergency repair service. While you wait for our technician to arrive, it is beneficial to limit opening doors and allowing more cold air into the home.

If it is below freezing outside, you should turn on the water faucets in different areas of the home to keep water flowing and help prevent frozen pipes. In addition, it is best to close bedroom and bathroom doors to help reduce further heat loss. If your home has a fireplace, you can use this to generate heat in the room it is located, until we arrive and fix your furnace.

Distinct Heating & Cooling also recommends scheduling our annual furnace maintenance and tune-up service to help identify potential problems and avoid coming home to a non-working furnace. Please feel free to contact us at (403) 477-3810 to schedule service now!

Here at Distinct Heating & Cooling, one question we get this time of year is what is the right way to shut down your cooling system for the winter season? In order to help you correctly prepare your system, we offer the following tips and suggestions.

1. Turn off the cooling system. Go to your thermostat and use the system switch to move the cool setting to off position.

2. Check the air filter on the system. The A/C system uses the same filtration as your furnace. You want to check and replace any filters that are dirty. It is recommended to replace filters with high quality air filters. If you need help determining what filter size you need or the best one for your system, do not hesitate to call one of our technicians.

3. Switch over the humidifier, if your system has one. It should currently be in the “summer” or “closed” position and you want to move it back to the “winter” or “open” position.

4. Outside, go to the electrical disconnect box and switch the power off to the outside A/C condensing unit. The electrical disconnect box is typically located near the unit and is often mounted on the side of the home. This step should be performed regardless of whether you intend to use a cover or not. It is worth mentioning, at Distinct Heating & Cooling, we do not recommend using a cover in most cases, since covers can actually do more harm than good.

Now, the air filter should have been inspected and replaced. The humidifier should be set to the “winter” setting. The power to the outdoor A/C condensing unit should be shut off. Next, return to the thermostat and use the system switch to move the setting from the off position to the “heat” position and adjust the temperature setting to your preferred temperature. Lastly, set the humidistat to the desired set point. After performing these steps you should be ready for the winter season.

If you need help shutting down your A/C system and preparing the heating system or notice any problems with the heating system, please feel free to call Distinct Heating & Cooling at (403) 477-3810. Our technicians are here to answer any questions you have and help walk you through the shutdown process, or we can send a technician to your home. We also provide annual maintenance and tune-up service to ensure your heating system will operate at peak performance throughout the winter season.

What do you do if you wake up in the morning or come home from work and your furnace is not working? Your initial reaction might be to pick up the phone and call an experienced furnace repair company, which may be necessary. However, before you make that phone call there are several things you can check to see if you can resolve the problem on your own and save the money you would otherwise spend for the service call.

Is the Power On?

This might seem like an obvious thing to check, but you would be surprised how many people call for furnace repair during power outages or because their furnace’s breaker switch has been switched off. So, you will want to verify your home has power and if it does, the next thing to check is whether the breaker switch for the furnace was not tripped by checking the breakers in the breaker box and looking for the one labelled as “Furnace.”

Depending upon the age of your furnace, you could also have a power switch, which looks like a regular light switch. If you have a furnace switch, it is normally located near the furnace unit and you will want to make sure it did not accidentally get turned off.

Is the Furnace Door Open?

Newer furnace models have a safety switch on their doors. If the door is not securely shut and comes open, it will stop the furnace from running. Verify the furnace door has not come open and the door is securely shut.

Is the Thermostat Set Correctly?

If you have kids or a spouse, you need to check the thermostat and verify the furnace is turned on (set to heat). Additionally, verify the temperature setting was not turned all the way down, otherwise the furnace will not kick on until the home reaches this temperature. You would be astonished by just how many calls are made for repair service, and yet, when the technician arrives, the problem is because the thermostat was either turned down or turned off. If you have a battery operated model, this is a great time to check the batteries and replace them if needed.

Is the Air Filter Dirty?

A dirty air filter can cause many furnace woes since air is not able to flow freely through the filter. With dirty filters, the furnace has to work harder to heat the home, using more energy, but operating at a reduced efficiency level. As a result, the furnace could overheat and stop working.

A quick check of the air filter will let you know if this could potentially be the issue. Replacing the dirty filter with a new one could resolve your problems. If you have a newer furnace, remember you may have two filters to check:

Return Air Filter: This filter is normally located on the front of the air return vent and is typically located on a wall, in a hallway or open room, somewhere in the home, away from the furnace.

Furnace Air Filter: This filter is located right next to the furnace.

Depending on the dust levels within your home, it is recommended to change your furnace filters every 1 to 3 months. Although, some filters are designed to be changed less frequently. If you are in doubt, then this is a good time to schedule annual furnace maintenance with Distinct Heating and Cooling.

Are the Furnace’s Exhaust Pipes Blocked?

Some newer, high efficiency furnace models have exhaust pipes, which are vented out of the side of the home. Sometimes snow, ice, leaves, or other debris gets into the exhaust pipes. This causes the furnace to initiate a safety feature and automatically shut itself off. If you notice a blockage in the exhaust pipes, be careful to not push it further into the pipes. If you are not able to remove the blockage yourself, please call a professional.

Hopefully, by reviewing these tips you are able to get your furnace running again and avoid a service call. However, after checking the items mentioned above, if your furnace still will not turn on, do not hesitate and call Distinct Heating & Cooling now at 403-477-3810. We would be happy to lend our expertise and knowledge to fix your furnace. We are available 24/7 and provide emergency repair services throughout the greater Calgary area.

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What makes us different from other heating and cooling companies that replaces Calgary furnaces? We do more than talk about customer service. At Distinct, we do business according to old-fashioned values.